John Bradshaw (judge) - Trial of The King

Trial of The King

In 1649 he was made president of the parliamentary commission to try the king. Other lawyers of greater prominence had refused the position.

Bradshaw was a controversial choice as Lord President, and opinions of his efficiency as a judge varied. Bulstrode Whitelocke believed that he was “learned in his profession,” but Thomas Fuller dismissed him as a man “of execrable memory, of whom nothing good is remembered.” The King himself, as well as much of the court, professed to having never heard of him.

Bradshaw himself did not attend court until the third session after his appointment, apologizing on the grounds that he had been out of London and disavowed his ability to perform “so important a task.” While he served as the Lord President, he was flanked by an impressive personal guard and carried a sword at his side. He wore scarlet robes and a “broad-brimmed, bullet-proof beaver hat, which he had covered over with velvet and lined it with steel and he also wore armour underneath his robes.” King Charles refused to recognise the authority of the court and would not plead. After declaring Charles I guilty as a “Tyrant, Traitor, Murderer, and a public enemy,” Bradshaw did not allow the king any final words. Under English law, a condemned prisoner was no longer alive and therefore did not have the right to speak, and Bradshaw followed this tradition strictly.